I am Stephen. I live in Bristol, UK. I decided to shorten my profile...to this: Wildlife, haiku, travel, streetart, psychogeography and my family. Not necessarily in that order.
I have been aware of this lovely column piece by Peggy for some time, but simply haven’t been able to stop in the right place to be able to photograph it. I managed to do so on an extended walk a week or two back when I had a day off from work.
Peggy, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2026
This superb floral design stands out brilliantly on the turquoise column, and is most striking. Peggy, who is a tattooist by profession, creates these pieces that are really quite unlike any other artwork we see in Bristol. Each one is quite different from the last, but stylistically consistent. It is good to see her work, especially as she doesn’t paint all that often.
Of course, I completely forgot that last week was a break from Thursday Doors, so it might come as surprise that this week is part two doors from a trip I made to Liverpool a year ago. My daughter and I went there to accompany and support my wife who was running in the Liverpool half-marathon. Between the start and finish of the race, we were kicking our heels a little and I took the chance to photograph some doors and some street art too.
This is quite an eclectic mix of doors, without any particular theme or style, that will conclude this short stay in the home of the fab four. I hope you enjoy the doors:
Tourist attraction upside down house with door at the top, Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool, March 2025Pig and Whistle doors, Chapel Street, Liverpool, March 2025Pig and Whistle funny signs, Chapel Street, Liverpool, March 2025Green door, The Strand, Liverpool, March 2025Door to the Baltic Hotel, Bridgewater Street, Liverpool, March 2025Arched door and steps, Greenland Street, Liverpool, March 2025Gustav Adolf Church, Park Lane, Liverpool, March 2025Multiple doors on a boat, Salthouse Quay, Liverpool, March 2025Fancy doorway to Mowgli, Water Street, Liverpool, March 2025Door to Martins Bank Building, Water Street, Liverpool, March 2025
So that is it for this week, and from this whirlwind trip to Liverpool – next time I’ll be sharing doors from another time and another place. Have a fabulous Easter weekend.
If you have made it this far, you probably like doors, and you really ought to take a look at the No Facilities blog by Dan Anton who has taken over the hosting of Thursday Doors from Norm 2.0 blog. Links to more doorscursions can be found in the comments section of Dan Anton’s weekly Thursday Doors post and his Sunday recap.
This is a beauty by DJ Perks that I photographed on a recent visit to the tunnel at L Dub. It has the tried and tested colour combination of light blue and pink that is favoured by so many graffiti writers (not to self – prepare a pink and blue special post).
DJ Perks, L Dub, Bristol, March 2026
Although this piece was painted in 2025, it still looks as fresh as a daisy, all very clean and neat. The letter forms in places remind me a little of Inkie’s work, although the edges and shapes here are a little softer. There is a simplicity of the fills and subtlety of the decorations that contributes to the integrity of the whole. Really nice work from DJ Perks.
Another fine stencil from the ever-expanding gallery of work by John D’oh under the M32. This little spot is a haven of wit, pathos, observation and political commentary captured within the artist’s simple and authentic style.
In this piece John D’oh highlights the pleasure and mental health benefits derived by artists from painting on the streets (a very real thing), while commenting on the futility of Bristol City Council putting those serving community service to work on buffing the walls of popular graffiti spots. A great observation of his own craft and responses to it.
Mage has been busy painting on the streets for a while now, and previously under a different name. He likes to throw up his letters pretty much everywhere, but his pieces are far from ‘throw ups’. Not one for backgrounds or buffing walls, it is important that his fills work hard to make his work distinctive and stand out from messy walls.
Mage, Greenbank, Bristol, March 2026
In this piece Mage’s fill is exquisite. It almost looks like his letters and gorgeous drop shadow have been painted over an existing grey piece of artwork. Clever stuff. In this instance Mage has added some black border decorations and some orange partial background. A very nice piece of graffiti writing.
It was so predictable that in the days after first meeting Wes up at Greenbank, I would start to see his work all over the place, and that is exactly what happened. I can’t believe I had this blind spot, but it happens from time to time. I will, however be seeking to make amends from this point in time, and include his pieces when I can.
Wes, Dean Lane, Bristol, March 2026
You might think that having fewer letters makes things simple, but by design, the letters will be bigger, and so fills need to be more considered. While there is a lot of ‘white space’ in these letters from Wes, he has managed to add in enough decoration to keep things interesting. The letters with a tiny overlap appear to float over a greeny-blue base. Watch out for a lot more from Wes.
What a lovely tidy and fresh-looking piece this is from Kool Hand. I was lucky enough to catch up with the artist himself as he was painting this one, and, like nearly all the artists I meet on the streets, he is a really nice and engaging bloke… why wouldn’t he be?
Kool Hand, Cumberland Basin, Bristol, March 2026
I think it is the freshness of this piece that makes it so easy on the eye. Everything feels solid and strong, and even the white highlights that help the piece to pop, are bold and unambiguous. A piece like this works so very well on a buffed wall, and could look quite compromised if it had been painted directly over existing busy graffiti.
My infrequent trips to L Dub are usually a real treat, because there is always something new to enjoy and even better, I can be pretty much guaranteed to find something by local graffiti artist Dun Sum. This wonderful, piece was new to me on my last visit a couple of weeks back.
Dun Sum, L Dub, Bristol, March 2026
Dun Sum’s fantasy animals are rooted in something familiar, but end up being otherworldly. This character appears to be a creative conflation of a snake and some kind of dragon lizard. I rather like the apparently random addition of a paddle, although there may be some story attached to that. As ever, superbly imaginative work from Dun Sum.
When it comes to commissions, there are probably two kinds of artist; those whose living is based on their artwork, and for whom commissions are factored into their income, and those who happen upon commissions that supplement their income, but whose primary income lies elsewhere. I think that Tanith Gould sits in the first category.
Tanith Gould, St Marks Road, Bristol, March 2026
I lover her work, and this outstanding golden lion on the wall of The Journey Tibet to India restaurant in Easton is wonderful. Small businesses like this are enlightened when they commission such works, because they help stamp an identity and recognisable landmark for the establishment. Once they have paid for the original commission, it works hard for them every single day, giving them a solid return on the investment. I have not yet been to the restaurant, but having seen this beautifully painted lion, I am left curious and interested in going. Great work from Tanith Gould.
Natural adventures 